Totally surpassed my expectations for a food court vendor. Price was more than I wanted to pay but they didn't disappoint. Would definitely grab lunch here again.
Jie X.
We had lunch here while visiting the city for NYE. I had the signature Ai Ramen which turned out quite delicious for Ramen from a place in a food court. Don't expect mind blowing Momofuku grade food, but it certainly deserves some praise since it hit the spot. The soup base was not too salty, the noodles slightly "al dente", which is the way I like, and the thinly sliced pork was tender and flavorful. If you have cravings for Ramen, grab a quick bite here in the food court at Liberty Place.
Teresa S.
Well I have to say, they must've improved tremendously. After reading most of the other reviews and seeing the photos it doesn't look that good. However, I had a wonderful experience here. I was craving something good and spicy but,didn't know what ! So I was looking around the food court in the mall. I spotted Ai Ramen. It was a cold Winter day ,so Ramen sounded wonderful. They also sell Sushi. But, the Ramen was what I wanted! There was a nice man working here, who made it all from scratch. So, it was extremely hot even when I got back to my hotel . It was aesthetically pleasing as well and a huge bowl! It had large pieces of chicken in it ,fresh noodles, and an amazing Broth. It was fantastic! I would go back any time.All for only $9.25
Laramie D.
When you think Ramen, you don't think overpriced wad of noodle gunk with an oil slick on top and flavorless broth below. On the other hand if you want to force down half a bowl of this as a quiet protest to all of the other superior food court options, the this is your Tiananmen Square.
Adell S.
No customer service. I wanted Spicy Shrimp Tempura with Brown rice instead of he white rice that was previously made. He wouldn't make me any. Stated, "we don't make any fresh ones until 2 pm!" What kind of crap is that!!!!
Nuo W.
This is the dumbest decision I have ever made, I shouldn't order from this ridiculous fake Asian food spot. I always want some noddles when I am hungry. I was really hungry so I decided to give it a try since I love ramen. What I got? A bowl of super duper OILY broth, two pieces REALLY FAT pork, some veggies, and cost me $9.99. the only thing I like was that at least they cooked the noddle right. I should have just walk to the Chinatown for real Chinese food since it was just 15min away from the center city. The lesson I learned? NEVER ORDER ASIAN FOOD From NON-Asians!! Stay away if you're an Asian!
Nicholas F.
Ordered ramen through one of the big delivery services and wound up extremely disappointed. None of the orders arrived with the seasoned egg, black mushrooms, ginger, or scallions and the broth tasted burnt. The only thing included were the noodles, broth and pork slices. The portion was hilariously small but acceptable at this price point if all of the advertised ingredients were present. The bao buns were below average. The pork was stringy and the buns were cold and soggy. To top it all off part of our order was missing. Thankfully we were issued a refund by the delivery service. I would never order from this place again even at the price point. There are simply too many options in the city that are superior in every way.
Ivy T.
Came in on weekdays lunch and it was crowd in the food court. Please alert, it is located in the food court liberty mall. I chose this one basically because almost no line and i had only a little time to eat. And somehow i feel like i want to get ramen for lunch. Ordered spicy miso ramen for 10$ and another 1$ for egg Pros : it was fast. No tip cos you eat in the food court. Noodle cooked perfectly, the flavor is there Con : you will get plastic bowl and spoon. Small protion. You will not get any egg unless you add 1$, they not even cut it half so it looked inappetizing. You only get 2 cuts of charsiu pork that full of fat. The service is pretty blah.
Michael F.
I believe an A-Ok rating for Ai Ramen is appropriate. The ramen meets the basic definition and won't blow you away. I'm guessing it won't completely disappoint you either. Portions are a bit small, but probably in line with what you'd expect from a semi-fast food type arrangement in a mall food court. You probably won't be around long enough to truly judge or comment on service and cleanliness is more a function of the mall. While I'm sure they have their busy periods, I've never had to wait very long. Finally, your wallet won't be too hurt if you chose to swing by for lunch or a snack.
Julia C.
I stopped here for lunch on a Friday and decided to get the sushi combo. It was very tasty and fresh. They also serve Bao (steamed bun) and the main food is, of course, Ramen noodle soups. They have a vegetarian selections in Ramen soup and Sushi rolls. I will come back to try the Vegetarian Ramen.
I went to this Ramen place after unsuccessfully going to Nom Nom (as they are closed between 3:30-5 on the weekends). The nearest ramen place in Rittenhouse to Nom Nom was this place so I decided to check it out. I did not know at the time it was in a food court. I had my fair share of skepticism once I saw it was in a food court, but went ahead and ordered the Spicy Miso Ramen anyway. It was only $10 so I decided to give it a shot. The Ramen was surprisingly decent, with amazing tasting pork and perfectly done noodles. However, the broth and vegetables (or lack thereof) leave much to be desired. The broth was way too salty and also way too spicy. My theory was that they decided to douse the soup in spice so that all other flavors would be vastly overshadowed. Also, not including any real "fresh" vegetables was a shame and I wish they had done a better job of doing so. All in all, the ramen was pretty decent for a food court. Food courts are great if you are with a group of friends and you can't decide what to eat. In this case, the ramen is acceptable and you can sacrifice its taste for being with your friends. However, if you really want good ramen, go somewhere else, a restaurant that specializes in it (like Nom Nom) and you won't be disappointed.
Emily P.
Alright for food court ramen. Not a lot of flavor but it was decent. I ordered the veggie one and mostly had cabbage in it. Probably wouldn't come back unless someone else recommend it.
Michelle M.
Over priced and sooooo salty. I got almost no broth (thank goodness because it was super duper salty) and honestly it was super over priced for what you get. 3 small strips of chicken, about the size of a French fry and no egg (had to pay for that) and some ginger an one almost invisible mushroom. I also paid 50 cents to "make it spicy" which literally did nothing to the broth. Complete waste of time and money. 12.00 I wish I would get back. Most of what was left went in the trash.
Megan W.
It's not that easy to find fully vegetarian ramen. Ai Ramen's veggie broth and generous mix of veggies is absolutely delicious. The noodles are tender and the broth is flavorful. Definitely recommended for vegetarians in a mostly meaty food court.
Ancy T.
Stopped over here for lunch on a severely cold day. The ordering process was pretty simple, the menu only has a few items making it easy to decide on what you want. The wait was not long. I don't think Ramen is meant to be eaten at a mall food court. I was slurping away and got it all over my shirt (I mean this was my own fault, but I still think the food court played a factor into it with the wobbly tables, using a plastic spoon, etc). The meat that I had (pork) was all fat and honestly inedible which was a shame because this is typically one of the best parts of the meal. I had also ordered a chicken bao bun which was quite delicious. I recommend stopping by for the bao buns, but definitely not stopping by for the ramen any time soon.
Totally surpassed my expectations for a food court vendor. Price was more than I wanted to pay but they didn't disappoint. Would definitely grab lunch here again.
We had lunch here while visiting the city for NYE. I had the signature Ai Ramen which turned out quite delicious for Ramen from a place in a food court. Don't expect mind blowing Momofuku grade food, but it certainly deserves some praise since it hit the spot. The soup base was not too salty, the noodles slightly "al dente", which is the way I like, and the thinly sliced pork was tender and flavorful. If you have cravings for Ramen, grab a quick bite here in the food court at Liberty Place.
Well I have to say, they must've improved tremendously. After reading most of the other reviews and seeing the photos it doesn't look that good. However, I had a wonderful experience here. I was craving something good and spicy but,didn't know what ! So I was looking around the food court in the mall. I spotted Ai Ramen. It was a cold Winter day ,so Ramen sounded wonderful. They also sell Sushi. But, the Ramen was what I wanted! There was a nice man working here, who made it all from scratch. So, it was extremely hot even when I got back to my hotel . It was aesthetically pleasing as well and a huge bowl! It had large pieces of chicken in it ,fresh noodles, and an amazing Broth. It was fantastic! I would go back any time.All for only $9.25
When you think Ramen, you don't think overpriced wad of noodle gunk with an oil slick on top and flavorless broth below. On the other hand if you want to force down half a bowl of this as a quiet protest to all of the other superior food court options, the this is your Tiananmen Square.
No customer service. I wanted Spicy Shrimp Tempura with Brown rice instead of he white rice that was previously made. He wouldn't make me any. Stated, "we don't make any fresh ones until 2 pm!" What kind of crap is that!!!!
This is the dumbest decision I have ever made, I shouldn't order from this ridiculous fake Asian food spot. I always want some noddles when I am hungry. I was really hungry so I decided to give it a try since I love ramen. What I got? A bowl of super duper OILY broth, two pieces REALLY FAT pork, some veggies, and cost me $9.99. the only thing I like was that at least they cooked the noddle right. I should have just walk to the Chinatown for real Chinese food since it was just 15min away from the center city. The lesson I learned? NEVER ORDER ASIAN FOOD From NON-Asians!! Stay away if you're an Asian!
Ordered ramen through one of the big delivery services and wound up extremely disappointed. None of the orders arrived with the seasoned egg, black mushrooms, ginger, or scallions and the broth tasted burnt. The only thing included were the noodles, broth and pork slices. The portion was hilariously small but acceptable at this price point if all of the advertised ingredients were present. The bao buns were below average. The pork was stringy and the buns were cold and soggy. To top it all off part of our order was missing. Thankfully we were issued a refund by the delivery service. I would never order from this place again even at the price point. There are simply too many options in the city that are superior in every way.
Came in on weekdays lunch and it was crowd in the food court. Please alert, it is located in the food court liberty mall. I chose this one basically because almost no line and i had only a little time to eat. And somehow i feel like i want to get ramen for lunch. Ordered spicy miso ramen for 10$ and another 1$ for egg Pros : it was fast. No tip cos you eat in the food court. Noodle cooked perfectly, the flavor is there Con : you will get plastic bowl and spoon. Small protion. You will not get any egg unless you add 1$, they not even cut it half so it looked inappetizing. You only get 2 cuts of charsiu pork that full of fat. The service is pretty blah.
I believe an A-Ok rating for Ai Ramen is appropriate. The ramen meets the basic definition and won't blow you away. I'm guessing it won't completely disappoint you either. Portions are a bit small, but probably in line with what you'd expect from a semi-fast food type arrangement in a mall food court. You probably won't be around long enough to truly judge or comment on service and cleanliness is more a function of the mall. While I'm sure they have their busy periods, I've never had to wait very long. Finally, your wallet won't be too hurt if you chose to swing by for lunch or a snack.
I stopped here for lunch on a Friday and decided to get the sushi combo. It was very tasty and fresh. They also serve Bao (steamed bun) and the main food is, of course, Ramen noodle soups. They have a vegetarian selections in Ramen soup and Sushi rolls. I will come back to try the Vegetarian Ramen.
Restaurantji Recommends
I went to this Ramen place after unsuccessfully going to Nom Nom (as they are closed between 3:30-5 on the weekends). The nearest ramen place in Rittenhouse to Nom Nom was this place so I decided to check it out. I did not know at the time it was in a food court. I had my fair share of skepticism once I saw it was in a food court, but went ahead and ordered the Spicy Miso Ramen anyway. It was only $10 so I decided to give it a shot. The Ramen was surprisingly decent, with amazing tasting pork and perfectly done noodles. However, the broth and vegetables (or lack thereof) leave much to be desired. The broth was way too salty and also way too spicy. My theory was that they decided to douse the soup in spice so that all other flavors would be vastly overshadowed. Also, not including any real "fresh" vegetables was a shame and I wish they had done a better job of doing so. All in all, the ramen was pretty decent for a food court. Food courts are great if you are with a group of friends and you can't decide what to eat. In this case, the ramen is acceptable and you can sacrifice its taste for being with your friends. However, if you really want good ramen, go somewhere else, a restaurant that specializes in it (like Nom Nom) and you won't be disappointed.
Alright for food court ramen. Not a lot of flavor but it was decent. I ordered the veggie one and mostly had cabbage in it. Probably wouldn't come back unless someone else recommend it.
Over priced and sooooo salty. I got almost no broth (thank goodness because it was super duper salty) and honestly it was super over priced for what you get. 3 small strips of chicken, about the size of a French fry and no egg (had to pay for that) and some ginger an one almost invisible mushroom. I also paid 50 cents to "make it spicy" which literally did nothing to the broth. Complete waste of time and money. 12.00 I wish I would get back. Most of what was left went in the trash.
It's not that easy to find fully vegetarian ramen. Ai Ramen's veggie broth and generous mix of veggies is absolutely delicious. The noodles are tender and the broth is flavorful. Definitely recommended for vegetarians in a mostly meaty food court.
Stopped over here for lunch on a severely cold day. The ordering process was pretty simple, the menu only has a few items making it easy to decide on what you want. The wait was not long. I don't think Ramen is meant to be eaten at a mall food court. I was slurping away and got it all over my shirt (I mean this was my own fault, but I still think the food court played a factor into it with the wobbly tables, using a plastic spoon, etc). The meat that I had (pork) was all fat and honestly inedible which was a shame because this is typically one of the best parts of the meal. I had also ordered a chicken bao bun which was quite delicious. I recommend stopping by for the bao buns, but definitely not stopping by for the ramen any time soon.